AMA (NSW) President: NSW a leader in health efficiency but has significant barriers to access
May 19, 2016AMA (NSW) welcomes greater regulation for cosmetic surgery
June 3, 2016AMA (NSW) President, Prof Brad Frankum, says the State’s hospitals are beginning to slide on performance measures, despite the best efforts of staff.
“This is the second quarter in a row that we’ve seen the record broken for the number of presentations at NSW emergency departments.
“There was also a surprisingly large nine per cent increase in triage one patients – people who are the sickest and most badly injured.
“Since the Bureau of Health Information started recording its data five years ago, NSW hospitals are now seeing 26 per cent more emergency patients each quarter.
“Put another way, that’s more than 130,000 extra patients in the first quarter since the same time in 2011,” Prof Frankum said.
“The BHI report shows that while NSW hospitals had been holding the line, and even improving up until recently, they’re starting to slip backwards.
“Even though on-time treatment in emergency has remained stable, there has been a dip in performance against the four-hour rule.
“More patients are presenting at emergency in sicker states than ever before and they often require admission to hospital after being treated in emergency.
“Patients that require admission from emergency typically take longer to leave the ED due to the higher complexity of their conditions.
“81 per cent of triage one patients and 59 per cent of triage two patients needed admission to hospital in the first quarter of this year, and they are the two areas that had the biggest growth in numbers,” Prof Frankum said.
“It’s especially troubling that even though fewer elective surgeries were performed than the same time last year, the number of procedures done on time decreased slightly.
“We’re seeing incremental increases in the number of days waited for elective surgery as well,” Prof Frankum said.
“We’re looking down the barrel of substantial cuts to health funding from the Federal Government.
“NSW hospitals are already slipping backwards in the face of unprecedented demand for health services.
“The doctors, nurses, and allied health staff have reached the limit of the amazing work they have done in finding efficiencies to help them deal with the massive increase in patient numbers.
“The future of health will be longer waiting times and poorer patient outcomes unless the Federal Government reverses its funding cuts.
“We need an end to the Medicare rebate freeze and a full reinstatement of the previous Labor Government’s funding pledges.
“The current Federal Government also needs to better engage with the medical profession,” Prof Frankum said.
Media contact: Lachlan Jones (02) 9902 8113 / 0419 402 955